The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-23
A COLD CROP.
CUTTING AND SLOWING ICE
FOR SUMMER USE
Marking the Ice-Cutting with
Plows-Separating the BLOCKS
with q Chisel-Remoyal
to the Icc-house.

Those who love to mitigate the breath
less days when the dog star is in the as.
cendant by slipping cobblers and
punches, or even by eating ices and
drinking innocuons iced tea, may rest at
ease IN the consciousness that Detrolt's
ice crop is practically made; that 1t
is of unusually good quality and that
its total amount reaches about 12o, 600
tons. This is exclusive of the cut of
packing ice made for brewers and
butchers use and is intended for domes-
tic, hotel and bar use.
There is quite q bit of GOODNESS in
1875, QUO tons of ice, and the cutting,
storing and delivery of it is work Civ
ing employment to large number of
men and requiring a heavy outlay OF
money.
Supposing the ice to be one foot IN
thickness, it will yield not far from
1000 tons to the acre, and it will thus be
seen that the area cut each season for
the cooling of Detroit's whistles is as
large as a good sized farm.
In the ice business promptness in seiz-
ing the opportunities of the weather is
all-important. The moment the ice has
reached q sufficient thickness the dealers
begin work and never take holiday un-
til their houses are full or the thaw
comes to put stop to proceedings. The
work is severe, in the matter of ex-
posure, d is correspondingly we'll paid.
Occasionally man or horse takes an
involuntary bath, too, but the number
of accidents is not great and the conse-
quences are rarely serious.
The first step in the ice harvest IS to
clear the surface OF snow. This is done
with horse scrapers and, if the snow is
light and dry, is an easy matter. If, on
the other hand, it is Of the dense an1
damp order it free es to the surface of
the ice, forming spongy layer on top,
which very much diminishes the value
of the crop. The scrapers now used rem
der possible very perfect clearing OF
the surface even when the snowis of the
heaviest.
After the snow has been scraped away
into great windrows, straight line is
carefully drawn across the field and,
with this as base, ahorse-marker, con-
sisting of two blades forty-four inches
apart, is set to work. One blade is run
on the line described, and the other
makes scratch, an inch or so deep, for
ty.four inches distant. This done, the
gu. de is run in the second scratch and
another line is made, and so on until
sufficient area has been marked. This
done, the marker is run at right angles
with the first lines until the field is d.
vided into blocks forty four inches square
like great chess board.
Following the marker comes a series
of cutting plows. the first of which deep
ems the scratch made by the marker to
six inches, the second to eight and the
third to ten inches. Sometimes, when
the ice is of unusual thickness, fourth
plough is used, which cuts to a depth of
twelve inches.
This done, it is an easy matter to sepa.
rate the blocks by deft use of great
steel chisel, as large as crowbar, which
is inserted in the crack and, by a twist,
prizes the blocks apart. The work of re-
moving the ice begins at the shore, i'm
mediately in front of the ice-house, and
q narrow channel the width of two or
three blocks, is cut from that point to the
heart of the field.
In taking the ice to the house it is
broken off in long strips of forty to sixty
cakes, and these are foated slowly but
steadily along the channel named by the
aid of pike poles until they reach an in
cline, which extends from the icehousc,
its lower extremity being below the sur
face of the water.
On this incline are two chutes, In
which runs heavy, endless steel chain,
having eight-inch links and carving at
short intervals grips or carriages for the
conveyance of ice. The strips described
are now separated and the individual
blocks hoated over and upon this endless
chain, by which they are seized and
borne up the incline. There is connec-
ton from the incline with the various
galleries of the house, and men standing
upon platforms seize the blocks with
spike poles when they reach the desired
point and direct them into the galleries,
the floors OF which have sufficient de-
scent 80 that the blocks will slide to any
required point with only little persua-
sion from the poles of line Of men
stationed along the gallery to ''mow
away"
Within the house the blocks are piled
in tiers one upon the other with space
of four inches between the piles. Each
block freezes to the ones above and be-
low it, but its separation is an easy mat
ter. If, however, the tiers were in con-
tact laterally, the contents of the house
would freeze into solid mass.
The loss by breakagc, thawing, etc,
averages not far from ifty-tve per cent.
The necessity of constant repairs to ma
chinery and tools, especially to the end.
less chain, is prolific source of expense
and delay. The machinery is used but
a few weeks in each year, after which it
is usual to take the engines apart, remove
the chain and pack oil tools away with
great care.
Nothingis used to protect the ice e.
cept little tan bark at the doors, and it
is only necessary to see that the doors are
kept closed, except when absolute
necessity requires that they be opened.
Detroit Free Press.
uoko1o In Hovino